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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) conceded the nomination to Hillary Clinton, praising the campaigns for pulling together and putting together "the most progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party.” (Published Monday, July 25, 2016)

The Clinton campaign's call to unite to defeat Donald Trump ran headlong into angry supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders as the Democrats opened their convention in Philadelphia on Monday to protests inside and outside the Wells Fargo Center. Even as the camps worked together to bring the convention under control, Sanders' backers remained enraged after leaked emails seemed to show the Democratic National Committee working against Sanders during the primaries.

The most common words from the Democratic National Convention speeches by first lady Michelle Obama and senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders on Monday, July 25, 2016.
Photo credit: wordclouds.com

The opening night of the convention featured Sanders, first lady Michelle Obama, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.

"An Outstanding President"Sanders' endorsement was unequivocal: "Based on her ideas and her leadership Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States," he told the convention.

The election for president was not about any of the candidates, he said, but about the needs of the American people and the kind of future that is created.

"This election is about which candidate understands the real problems facing this country and has offered real solutions – not just bombast, not just fear-mongering, not just name-calling and divisiveness," he said.

The country needs leadership that will improve the lives of working families, the children, the elderly, the sick and the poor, leadership that brings people together and makes the country stronger, he said.

"If you don't believe that this election is important, if you think you can sit it out, take a moment to think about the Supreme Court justices that Donald Trump would nominate - and what that would mean to civil liberties, equal rights and the future of our country," he told his supporters.

The last speaker of the night, he began only after a long ovation. The election is about the threat of climate change, moving the United States toward universal health care, passing comprehensive immigration reform and repairing a broken criminal justice system, he said.

"Our job now is to see that strong Democratic platform implemented by a Democratic-controlled Senate, by a Democratic House and a Hillary Clinton presidency," he said. "And I am going to do all that I can to make that happen."

"In this Election, I’m With Her"First lady Michelle Obama told the convention that she trusted Clinton to lead the country because she had seen Clinton's lifelong devotion to the country's children. Clinton, she said, has spent decades trying to make a difference in their lives.

Michelle Obama Calls on Democrats to Get Out the Vote

First lady Michelle Obama called on Democrats to get out the vote in the fall, saying that the future of the country depended on having a leader who could protect the promise of America for its children.

(Published Monday, July 25, 2016)

The election is not about Democrats or Republicans, she said. It is about "who will have the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of their lives."

Eight years ago, when Clinton did not win the nomination, she did not get angry or disillusioned, Obama said. She did not pack up but became the secretary of state.

The Keynote SpeakerWarren, the Democrat from Massachusetts and a darling of the left, has memorably called Trump a "small, insecure money grubber."

Warren on Trump: 'Not Now, Not Ever'

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) slammed the Republican nominee Donald Trump at the Democratic National Convention, saying "We will not be Donald Trump's hate-filled America. Not now, not ever."

(Published Monday, July 25, 2016)

Monday's keynote speaker, she went after Trump again with fervor — calling Trump University, the real-estate training program founded by Trump and now the subject of two class-action lawsuits, a "fake." His bankruptcies allowed him to protect his own money while his investors lost theirs, she said.

"I'll tell you what kind of man, a man who must never be a president of the United States," said Warren, who remained neutral during the primaries and who endorsed Clinton in June.

She said that Trump thought that he could win votes by fanning the flames of fear and hatred, by persuading the country that its problem was other Americans who look different or talk or worship differently.

"That’s Donald Trump's America," she said. "An America of fear and hate. An America where we all break apart. Whites against Blacks and Latinos. Christians against Muslims and Jews. Straight against gay. Everyone against immigrants. Race, religion, heritage, gender – the more factions the better."

But when white workers in Ohio are pitted against black workers in North Carolina or Latino workers in Florida, who benefits? she asked.

"When we turn on each other, bankers can run our economy for Wall Street, oil companies can fight off clean energy, and giant corporations can ship the last good jobs overseas," she said.

"When we turn on each other, we can't unite to fight back against a rigged system," she said.

"You're Being Ridiculous"Comedian and actress Sarah Silverman, a well-known supporter of Sanders, offered one of the most memorable lines of the evening.

"To the Bernie or bust people, you're being ridiculous," she said to his die-hard backers.

Sarah Silverman Calls Sanders Holdouts 'Ridiculous'

Sarah Silverman, who voted for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, called on Sanders supporters to vote for Hillary Clinton in the fall.

(Published Monday, July 25, 2016)

Sanders showed the country what was possible and what it deserved but Clinton was now the Democratic nominee "and I will proudly vote for her," she said.

Minnesota U.S. Sen. Al Franken, a former writer and performer for "Saturday Night Live," showed his comedy chops Monday night as he attacked Trump's business record, particularly Trump University.

Franken joked that he had gotten a doctorate in megalomania studies from Trump University, paying for it by emptying his 401K and taking out a reverse mortgage on his house.

"Sure he scammed a lot of people," Franken said of Trump. "But did you know that Trump's school of ripping people off is ranked second in the nation right behind Bernie Madoff University. That is no mean feat."

Franken mocked the Trump business school’s bankruptcy program, a reference to Trump’s bankruptcies, and what he called its most popular course, Bankruptcy 101: How to Leave Your Partners Holding the Bag.

At the end, Silverman and Franken waited awkwardly for Paul Simon to take the stage to sing "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

Turmoil at the Democratic National CommitteeDebbie Wasserman Schultz's fall was complete on Monday, first as the Democratic national chairwoman and then as a speaker at the party's convention in Philadelphia.

Wasserman Schultz was booed at the breakfast for Florida delegates, her home state, in the morning, and greeted with signs reading "E-MAILS" and "Thanks for the Help Debbie!:)." By the afternoon she had told the Florida newspaper, the Sun Sentinel, that she would step aside for the convention's opening.

"I have decided that in the interest of making sure that we can start the Democratic convention on a high note that I am not going to gavel in the convention," she said.

Sanders' supporters are furious about leaked Democratic emails that appear to show that the party had tried to undermine him — a charge the Sanders camp made throughout the primary season. In one email, Wasserman Schultz said of Sanders' statement that he would oust her: "He isn't going to be president."

Wasserman Schultz agreed on Sunday to step down as chairwoman at the end of the convention. On Monday, the Democratic National Committee apologized to Sanders and his supporters for what it called "inexcusable remarks made over email."

The emails went counter to the committee's "steadfast commitment to neutrality during the nominating process," it said.

During the day on Monday, Sanders told his supporters: "Her resignation opens up the possibility of new leadership at the top of a Democratic Party that will stand with working people."